Between Two Buns

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Sean

Sandwich shops are the new burger joint in 2012 it would seem and I just LOVE it! The newest addition to the Vancouver dining scene is Between Two Buns on Homer Street, these guy’s have taken over the old Bella Pizza location and really transformed the space from dump to dream. The space is open with seating for 6-8 so take out is a great option here and from what I see they have made a lot of neighborhood residents regular customers already and that says a lot seeing they’ve only been open for a couple of weeks.

I’ve been in couple of times since they opened there doors and tried a couple of sandwiches and a daily soup, all of which were really good in general so it’s safe to say that the sandwich wizards at Between Two Buns are doing it right!

The Cheeky and Roasted Tomato soup.

The cheeky is a great combination of braised pork cheeks, smoked emmental cheese, creamy coleslaw and caramelized bacon aioli. I had this on their opening day. The meat was melt in your mouth tender but I found the creamy coleslaw overwhelmed the rest of the ingredients and made the sandwich taste overly sweet. The soup on the other hand was PERFECT. There was a beautiful tang to it and it had a great thickness to it which made it really hearty.

The Maniac is appropriately named, it’s a mix of double smoked bacon, baby arugula with asiago,garlic and Parmesan aioli. Now this sandwich really kicked butt! I really enjoyed the saltines from the bacon and the aioli with the peppery baby arugula.

Both sandwiches were priced at $9 each and the soup was around $4 so it’s on point price wise with other sandwich places. If you find yourself in the Yaletown area I’d definitely recommend Between Two Buns so your sandwich fix.

Quick Noms~Viet Sub on Robson Street

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Sean

Quite often than not I find myself not able to sit down for a leisurely meal so grabbing something quick is in order~but making a choice that is both solid quality wise and somewhat healthy leaves me kinda screwed on the weekend when our street food carts aren’t all open. I have been meaning to check out Viet Sub on Robson St and have heard great things about it from numerous people but the dining space is literally the size of my bathroom and packed when ever I go by so I was delighted to find them totally empty on a Saturday afternoon~YAY!

I love me some Pho and I am looking forward to giving it a try but on this visit I was after something a bit more hearty and quick to eat~the classic Bánh mì, so I placed an order for what looked most appetizing to me~a B5:

The Special Sub, $4.25~Vietnamese ham, cold cut meats, pate and meat ball and topped with the traditional picked veg topping and cilantro.

It reminded me of a foodie football!, the bread was beautifully crusty of the outside and soft and tender on the inside, inside under the meats there was a savory mayo of some kind that complemented the big flavors of the cilantro and added a nice creamy touch. The meats were tender but I couldn’t discern the different types but I cold taste the pate but at the end of the day it was delish and totally filled my up.

With my first visit under my belt I’m already looking forward to my next meal and having a some Pho and some spring rolls and actually having a leisurely lunch in the Vietnamese closet also known as Viet Sub. Job done for under $5!

A Tale Of 3 Chicken Sandwiches

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Sean

Lately I’ve noticed that I eat a lot of sandwiches when I’m out so here is a brief sampling of 3 of the latest chicken sammy’s I’ve chowed down on lately.

First up is the cheapest out of the bunch, it’s Mc Donald’s new “McBistro” line of chicken sandwiches and came in at $5.99 before taxes. I chose the crispy version of this because I was of the understanding that it was a new version of the crispy breast they had before but the sandwich I got from my local Mickey D’s had the old breast and came packaged in the old line of sandwich boxes but was on the new whole wheat bun, I went with the BLT version out of the 3 choices, the tomatoes could have been fresher and I took them off after taking the picture~you could tell they weren’t sliced that day and the chicken was really tough. In the end it was a meh kinda sandwich and let’s just say I wont be having another one~there pretty much the same line of “Supreme” sandwiches they had previous but just on a different bun.

Next up and in the middle position price wise is the Fatburger Classic Grilled Chicken Sandwich, it was the special of the day so the combo ended up only costing me $9.79 plus tax. I’ve never had the grilled chicken sandwich at Fatburger before, the chicken breast was nicely seasoned with a lemon pepper blend and had a nice tang, it was juicy and tender, toppings wise it was kept simple with lettuce, tomato, mayo and pickles. I must say that I really like the fries here compared to other fast food places, there crisp and tender on the inside and seasoned with a bit of salt, also there cooked to order which makes all the difference.

Lastly we have The Big Chick from Vera’s Burger Shack over in Kits, again I stopped in on the day when all combo specials were available so the combo ended up costing me around $12 after taxes. The Vera’s crew marinade this chicken breast in bourbon and the burger is topped with sautéed onions, provolone cheese and bacon, veggie wise it had lettuce, tomato and a pickle. I’ve had this before when I first tried Vera’s and it’s a good chicken sandwich but for some reason this one refused to stay in the bun and the chicken breast slid out more with each bite so needless to say this gets the messiest sandwich award. On a flavor note I’d suggest getting cheddar or something else as the cheese on this because the provolone totally dominated this and it wasn’t a good thing. My meal also came with fries and a drink, the fries here are hand cut and fried to order but the ones that I got needed to be cooked more and lacked seasoning so 2/3 of the basket were not eaten but at the end of the day it’s not about the fries and the chicken sandwich was good and the quality of the toppings were there.

So out of the 3 sandwiches I’ve mentioned the one at Fatburger is the one that I’d go back for or eat instead of a burger, the seasoning on the chicken was unlike I’ve had at any other place in Vancouver and definitely made the sandwich standout against the others.

Dirty Apron Deli and Cooking School

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Sean

The Dirty Apron is one of the more unique places to grab lunch in the downtown area. Nico and Karri Schuermans~the owners of Chambar and Cafe Medina have combined a deli of fine meats and cheese’s, ready to eat freshly made sandwiches and salads, a hot carvery and a gourmet grocery store all in one but to cap it off the also have a great cooking school with a variety of classes all in one cleverly designed space.

Great meats

Killer sandwiches

Tempting baked goods

The seating is communal at long tables and the have their house made chili sambal oil for you to jazz up your food if you like to.

I went with one of the baguette sandwiches~roasted chicken, arugula and sun-dried tomatoes with grana padano Parmesan and pesto mayo. They make their bread fresh all through out the day in small batches so whenever you get your sandwich have no worry~you bread is usually no more than an hour old. There was two halves to this sandwich and it was wrapped up nicely in paper, the chicken was moist and tender and all the ingredients worked well together.

I also got some of their fresh salads, they sell them on a /100 gram rate that’s around $3.50 (ish). I went split it up choice wise seeing everything was the same price so the hardest thing was choosing what to get out of the 6 different choices.

This is a Brussel sprout salad with prosciutto and broccoli. It was a nice fresh salad and the sprouts were cooked nicely but still crisp but without that cabbage taste, one thing I wish there was more of was the prosciutto.

The Mediterranean couscous was the other salad I got, it was a brightly flavored salad with the roasted red pepper and roasted onion being a balance to the vinaigrette.

With my sandwich and salad~I bought 100 grams of each my bill was around $17 with tax, seeing it’s really fresh great quality food the price is justified and I’ll totally be back.

An Afternoon Of Eating and Drinking Notturno Paninoteca’s New Menu

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Sean

Some big things have changed since my first post about Notturno~they’ve got their liquor license now and have fully opened for lunch and dinner service with a selection of great wines, beers and a bigger menu full of delish creations from Chef Adrian.

I was invited by the owner to come by and try some of these new treats and I ended up finding one of my new favorite beers so it was a winning day of great food, awesome restaurant talk and delish beer and Italian soda’s that would make your Nonna smile!

The menu has been expanded to include salumi plates, salads, brushette and of course their great panini’s.

A wine and beer menu has also been added, it’s posted on the wall and changes periodically~the guy’s at Notturno aren’t trying to carry every choice out there booze wise and are concentrating on great drinkable wines that also wont break the bank.

This is one of my new favorite beers, it’s from Spain and would never had been on my radar, the Estrella Damm INEDIT, it’s a unique coupage of barley malt and wheat, flavored with coriander, orange peel and liquorice. It really did compliment the dishes I had and was a pleasure to drink~I see many more bottles of this in my future.

“Inedit is the first beer specifically created to accompany food. It is born from the conviction that a beer that could be paired with the utmost respect to the best cuisine was necessary. That is its aim and its virtue, and that is what makes Inedit different, special and unique.”

It’s the only beer that I’ve heard of that suggests keeping the open bottle in an ice bucket between glass refills and also it’s best served in a wine glass, it’s on the menu here for $16 but we got 4 generous servings out of one bottle.

They also have brought in a line of premium Italian soda’s from Abbodino, there are 2 variety’s that they carry, I tried the orange flavor and it was just like drinking a carbonated orange, totally refreshing and a nice change from the San Pellegrino brand that I usually have.

This is the selection of bruschette that I had

The Crudo~fresh Albacore tuna crudo, chili aioli, cucumber and balsamic pearls. It was like a tuna salad that mom couldn’t make!, the spice wasn’t too strong from the chili aioli and the balsamic pearls bursting in your mouth were a great touch.

The Fico~Blue cheese aioli, black olive, walnut and fresh greens. The same ingredients that they have in the Fico panini but just in a smaller bite sized form, the blue cheese aioli and the walnuts compliment each other beautifully and the black olive added that nice salty hit.

The Tartufo Di Capra~Black truffle goat cheese, fresh greens and topped with tomato pearls. This was one of my favorites, the predominate flavor is yummy black truffles and the goat cheese is nice and creamy~the perfect touch to the truffle and the tomato pearls add that fresh acidic touch to break up the big flavors.

The Anatra~Duck prosciutto, goat cheese and arugula. The star of this bad boy was the duck prosciutto, it’s a nice meaty bite and was a pleasure to eat, I’ve had duck prosciutto before at a fine dining restaurant and really loved it. If you’re not a duck fan but like prosciutto try this~it’s nice and meaty but not in a gamey way.

Since I have a love of beets I had to try their Radice Insalata, it had beets, seasonal vegetables, taleggio cheese and a walnut vinaigrette. This was another hit and if you like beet salads this is for you!, the seasonal veg in this case was root vegetables like carrots and also yellow beets, green beans and the walnuts are ground up and put in the dressing so you get that nutty flavor in every bite.

To round things out i went with the ever so popular Calabrese Panini, it has spicy capicollo, spicy sopressata, salami, spicy pickled eggplant, provolone and goat cheese. For $9.50 its a great value seeing all the top quality salumi, the meats weren’t too spicy tho and the goat cheese really rounded out the big flavors.

From what I got to sample I think the larger menu is going to be a hit and is already proving to be pretty popular. Notturno is participating in the Vancouver Foodster Tasting Plates event coming up on Feb 15, 2012 along with a bunch of other great restaurants, they will be featuring the Crudo, Tartufo Di Capra and Fico brushette as their offering for the event, if you want to buy tickets to the event and see a complete line up of participating restaurants and menus please click here.

**Note of disclosure~all my food samples were provided free by Notturno and also my drinks were covered also, I was invited to try some items and wasn’t expected to write a post~I’m doing it because everything kicked butt and I wanted to spread the good food news.**

The Templeton-Quality Food,Snappy Service!

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Sean

One place that packs them in every day is The Templeton Cafe on Granville Street. The Templeton has occupied the space since the mid ’90′s but it’s been a diner since 1939 so the old school fixtures and vibe inside is totally authentic.

The place usually dies down around 1:30-2pm on the weekdays so it was a great time to visit and grab one of my favorite things and snap some pictures.

The shakes here are not to be missed, there made with hand scooped hard ice cream and whole milk, served in the mixing tin but glasses are available if you ask. There thick and rich just like they were made back in the 50′s.

They also make custom made sodas as well, in the summer I’ve had many a cherry limeade made with fresh limes and cherry syrup and soda~crisp and refreshing it’s a diner classic.

This is the 777 Burger Platter, it’s a 100% certified lean organic beef on a sesame kaiser bun, all burgers come with mayo, lettuce, tomato, red onion and pickle and your choice of soup or mixed organic greens or house chipped fries or garlic mashed potatoes, For $10.50 it’s a solid choice if you’re a burger lover.

The burgers here are really juicy and the organic beef is a great choice.

Fries here are classic skin on, thick cut chips, crisp and seasoned with some pepper as well as salt, you get a nice portion of them and they aren’t greasy.

If you find yourself downtown you should definitely check out The Templeton, it’s totally kid friendly and your sure to find something to satisfy your appetite with the varied menu that goes from breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Tossed

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Sean

A new option for healthy quick eats has opened it’s doors in the Downtown core and I wouldn’t call it fast food but rather good food fast. The Tossed chain is from the USA and the location in downtown Vancouver is the first and only in Canada.

The interior is bright and modern and goes with the healthy eating concept, the food is prepared when you order it but everything is packed to go~even if your eating in, you can order online for pickup in advance right now but eventually going to get there online ordering system to the point where they will deliver your food to you in your office downtown, they also do catering.

The menu is really diverse compared to other options like this in the fast casual market, they offer custom made salads as well as chef created choices, soups, sandwiches, panini, smoothies and desserts as well as something I haven’t seen before-fat free, whole wheat buttermilk crepe wraps.

On my first visit I was served by the owner of the location, he was very helpfully with suggestions and answered any questions I had.

I went with the Turkey Crepe Wrap for $7.95, it had smoked turkey, smoked bacon, romaine hearts and chopped tomato with mayo.

It was a was a good lunch but the smoked bacon flavor over took the wrap and the turkey flavor was muted, as for the crepe as a wrap I really like it compared to a tortilla, the texture and flavor were light and showcased the ingredients in the wrap. Your wrap comes in some white paper-keep it on and peal it down as eating otherwise your wrap will be a mess to eat-I removed the paper to get a photo and have learned my lesson, also you might want to not get them to cut it in half and eat it like a burrito.

On my 2nd visit I went with something I saw on There Is Always Room , Heather raved about the soups here and I had to try them-I love some good soup, they had Mushroom Bisque or Chicken Noodle, I went with the bisque as part of there Tossed 2 combo for $7.95, you get your choice of daily soup or 1/2 salad (Caesar, spinach or vegetarian) and 1/2 a sandwich or panini.

The soup was totally delicious, it had a mix of wild mushrooms in it including shitaki, the flavor of the broth was nice and rich in a good mushroom way, it wasn’t a creamy mushroom soup that’s for sure~I licked my bowl clean and would order a large bowl of this again.

I chose the roast beef sandwich for my main on multigrain bread, it had baby arugula, roasted red peppers and thousand island dressing. It was one good sandwich, the bread was nice soft yet it totally held together, the thousand island dressing was light in taste and worked with all the ingredients~something I never would have put on a sandwich, the arugula and roasted peppers provided a nice savory note and were a nice change from the typical lettuce and tomato for a roast beef sandwich.

I think Tossed is a great healthy option that fits with the lifestyle of a lot of people who live in Vancouver, they also offer a gluten free menu, it’s a great addition to the Vancouver Good Food Fast Scene!

You can order and check out there menu online by clicking here

The Spot Cafe

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Sean

The west End and specifically Robson and Denman is packed with dining options that span the ends of the earth but if you’re looking for a regular mom and pop coffee shop The Spot Cafe fills that roll quite nicely.

It has all the usual sandwiches and salads that you would expect to find as well as wraps and Panini sandwiches. The owners work right in the restaurant and are there to answer any questions you might have, I’m not sure how many generations of the Korean family work here but it looked like the owner’s elderly parents and his kids all work behind the counter and making the food so you really do get the vibe of a family operation.

They offer some drinks sweetened with cane sugar and can be found in these glass bottles~it’s just like the sprite from the 70′s before corn syrup started screwing everything up!

I feel like a good test for a place besides trying an omelet is to try a clubhouse!~just kidding~I love’s me some clubhouse sandwiches and that’s what I felt like having, they do there’s here with house roasted shredded chicken instead of the sliced stuff you find at most places. I watched the older lady making this and it was she was delicately assembling a bomb ~a food bomb that is, she was precise in her placement of all the ingredients down to each piece of chicken. I used to work above a Korea run sandwich shop on Homer Street for a couple of years and it was they had some of the most well prepared sandwiches I have ever had and this place reminds me of it completely.

I watched the older lady making this and it was she was delicately assembling a bomb-a food bomb that is, she was precise in her placement of all the ingredients down to each piece of chicken. I used to work above a Korean run sandwich shop on Homer Street for a couple of years and it was they had some of the most well prepared sandwiches I have ever had and this place reminds me of it completely. For $7.95 it was a good value and a solid sandwich and I’d come back and eat here again for sure.

The Red Umbrella Cafe

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Sean

The Red Umbrella cafe is one of those neighborhood greasy spoons that specialize in all day breakfasts and it just so happens that the Red Umbrella is that place in my neighborhood.

I can remember it being packed with weekend bruncher’s in the late 90′s till right before I moved down to the neighborhood in 2006, then it changed ownership but kept the name still but that’s about it. I say this because back then the owners had some awesome cooks and the new owners tried to keep up that same menu but it hasn’t quite worked out that way. The menu consists now of a full list of specialty coffees, a sheet of your typical greasy spoon breakfast plates and omelets, some burgers and a sandwich sheet as well as some pastas~I’ve tried the pasta when they were launching it and lets just say that pasta isn’t their strong suit, other than that its a solid choice if you’re looking for no frills and good quality eats.

The room is bright and very homey, there some outdoor seating available on nice days and in the summer everyday. Just off to the left in this picture is a sofa if you want to relax with a coffee and your food and they also have one of those artificial fireplaces to throw some nice heat on those cold rainy Vancouver days.

The coffee is good and they are attentive on free refills, it’s also cheap at under $2.

As for the egg dishes I went with one of their omelets, they call this one the works. It had ham, cheddar cheese, mixed veggies including eggplant, mushrooms, peppers and onions, also it comes with your choice of toast~rye in my case and for $10 it’s an OK deal. I will say that my eggs were well come and kind of tough but they were well seasoned, the veggie mix I think was a frozen mix (Mediterranean type) that I’ve bought before for pasta sauce~it’s a quality product but I’d prefer fresh veggies.

I’ve had this here since the first time I came here, the quality of the bread has changed~they used to have homemade whole grain bread before but the amount of nice turkey made up for this.

For $10 it’s a moderately priced sandwich for just coming by its self, some fires would have been nice but I don’t think they have a deep fryer here and only offer pan fries for $2.50 extra and the some of the day is only one choice so your outta luck if you don’t like it. At the end of the day it was a solid turkey club and the bacon was cooked perfectly crisp without being cremated.

The Red Umbrella is a decent choice for food in the area if you’re looking for a basic no frills meal, They are open 6 days a week till roughly 5pm and are closed on Mondays.

Ensemble Tap

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Sean

Top Chef Canada winner and hometown hero Dale MacKay has opened the doors to his second restaurant this week and all I can say is the boy has been busy building a dining empire and all this success has happened within this year.

The new space is big and open, the flat screens all around the restaurant shows the games of the day and there are 17 different beers on tap here hence the name~Ensemble Tap.

The menu is focused on upscale pub food and when you stop and think about what big chain restaurants charge for food Ensemble Tap’s prices are right on par with the big guy’s but the quality of food is leaps and bounds above the big guy’s.

I started out with some beer and the staff here are knowledgeable about the different beers here and were happy to recommend this based on what I like in beer and boy was it a great choice.

For my appy I went with the classic French Onion soup for $8. This was a classic french onion soup topped with Gruyère cheese, the broth was rich and full-bodied

the soup was packed with caramelized onions like any great French Onion soup should be. One benefit of it being served in this camp style bowl was that I was able to pick it up and tilt it to get all that yummy stuff out of it.

For my main I wanted to try the recipe that won him a challenge on Top Chef Canada and is also served at his other restaurant Ensemble, the Pulled Pork sandwich with apple horseradish slaw, served with a side of Baked Beans and a cup of trademark Ensemble Kennebec Fries for $13.

The fries were cooked perfectly and not greasy yet totally crisp, these were some of the best fries I’ve had in a while and reminded me of Belgian Frites.

The baked beans were not overly smokey and had pulled pork in them, they were a delight to eat and I would have licked the ramekin clean if I were alone!

The pickles on the side also were tart and crisp like a good dill should be.

Now for the star of the show!, a nice soft bun that held together nicely, delish apple horseradish slaw and saucy smoked melt in your mouth pork,,,I’m hungry for one right now!, as far as pulled pork sandwiches go its one of the best I’ve had and is a must try for anyone coming to the restaurant, the slaw wasn’t to strong with the horseradish.

I’m really happy Ensemble Tap has opened it’s doors and I think it’s going to be one of those classic go to local restaurants for many years to come.

**Updated post December 14, 2011**

I went back for some more awesome food and Ensemble Tap~I was craving the Pork Chop dish and some good beer so here is the food!

Ensemble Lager $5.50, this is the house beer brewed for them by Big Rock Brewery, it’s a crisp lager that would go well with almost any dish on the menu and is a safe bet if your unsure of what to try.

Next up is the Tree Thirsty Beaver Amber Ale $7, this was a medium bodied beer that had a clan finish to it with a bit of hop flavor, I usually don’t go for amber ales but server recommended this and I’m glad she did~it is defiantly on my drink list.

For my appy I went with the Popcorn Prawns with Spicy Mayo for $12. Crispy battered juicy prawns with a kaffir lime scented mayo~what more can I say besides they were AWESOME!, I gobbled these up quick and the mayo has that nice mouth tingling effect.

The garnish for the prawns is tempura battered sea asparagus, I’ve never had this before but have seen it on Food Network, it was nicely battered and tasted like the ocean~I found the taste interesting.

This is what I was craving for a couple of days, its inspired by one of Dale’s favorite childhood meals~pork chops and sauerkraut!. This is a kicked up version of a basic pork chop meal, the chop is brined before hand and then smoked and served with a mustard and panko/herb topping. Along for sides it has grainy mustard, glazed carrots and house made sauerkraut

it was definitely a killer plate and I can see why it’s one of his favorites. For $19 it was a full meal and the kraut was more sweet that sour and had nicely chopped bacon in it so if your scared of sauerkraut you might want to give this a try.

Again it was a great meal at Ensemble and I’m looking forward to many more!